State of Maryland

SKILLED SERVICE     BARGAINING UNIT: D      OVERTIME ELIGIBLE      NCP

A Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Associate I is the entry level of work at Maryland Department of Health (MDH) designated Court Involved (CI) Facilities providing counseling or other therapeutic mental health services to seriously mentally ill children and adolescents in State inpatient, residential, community-based or in-home treatment settings.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other CAMH Associates but may provide advice and guidance to support staff.

Employees in this classification receive close administrative supervision from a CAMH Associate Supervisor, a licensed health professional or a mental health professional.  Employees receive clinical supervision from a licensed health professional or a mental health professional.  Employees may be assigned to day, evening or rotating shifts to include holidays and weekends and are subject to call-in and overtime based on staffing needs and program responsibilities.  Employees may be required to restrain clients displaying violent or aggressive behavior.  The work may involve lifting wheelchairs and other heavy objects.  

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work Sections of a class specification.

The CAMH Associate I, CAMH Associate II, and CAMH Associate III are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The CAMH Associate I performs duties under close supervision.  The CAMH Associate II performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The CAMH Associate III performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Learns to assist mental health professionals in providing counseling or other direct therapeutic services to seriously mentally ill children and adolescents in State inpatient, residential, community-based or in-home treatment programs;          

Learns to use counseling techniques to work with seriously mentally ill children and adolescents using therapeutic communication skills;      

Learns to observe behavior of children and adolescents, record pertinent observations, maintain records of their social, physical and psychological behavior and make recommendations to the treatment team for possible program modifications or the need for specialized services;          

Learns to plan, develop and implement prescribed therapeutic treatment activities and programs designed to meet the mental health treatment goals and the emotional, social, recreational, cognitive and physical developmental needs of the assigned children or adolescents;

Learns to lead children and adolescents in planned recreational, occupational and other adaptive programs in accordance with individual treatment plans;

Learns to interact appropriately, proactively, and in response to the behavior of the children and adolescents in the therapeutic milieu;          

Learns to obtain information regarding clients’ mental health histories through interviews with children, adolescents, their families or caregivers, clergy, employers and school and community sources;          

Learns to refer or escort children and adolescents to appropriate institutional, community and therapy services and to assist them in using these services;

Learns to participate in multidisciplinary team and staff meetings and in-service training activities;

Learns to maintain safety and other standards set by the facility staff and surveying agencies;

May learn to participate in group therapy sessions with a licensed mental health professional;

May learn to be responsible for the overall behavior management and personal care needs of a group of seriously mentally ill children and adolescents including limit setting, crisis intervention and advocacy;          

May learn to coordinate the unit program with other programs, services or community organizations;

May assist in the collection of data and implementation of study projects;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the theories, principles and practices of growth and development, behavior and personality development;

Knowledge of the dynamics of interpersonal relations, including family dynamics, and patterns of adjustive behavior related to the mental health of children and adolescents;

Knowledge of suicide theory and intervention techniques;          

Knowledge of the kinds, symptoms and causes of mental illness and emotional disturbance in children and adolescents;

Knowledge of methods of treatment of mental illness and emotional disturbance in children and adolescents;

Knowledge of basic and alternative communication skills and therapeutic interaction techniques used with children and adolescents;          

Ability to learn federal and State laws and regulations and professional standards governing the care and treatment of children and adolescents including basic rights of children, confidentiality and child abuse issues;          

Ability to learn to conduct therapeutic activities specified in individual treatment plans;

Ability to learn to identify stressors that may interfere with growth and development;

Ability to learn to develop and implement therapeutic milieu structures and programs that meet the treatment goals and developmental needs of assigned children or adolescents;

Ability to learn to teach problem-solving and decision-making skills and to learn to assist children and adolescents in developing effective coping mechanisms;

Ability to learn to process crises and incidents;          

Ability to learn to implement appropriate behavioral consequences and to physically intervene in a behavioral crisis;          

Ability to communicate effectively and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with child and adolescent clients, mental health professionals, human services professionals, health care professionals, families and community resource groups.

Education: Completion of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 12 credit hours in mental health, health, human services, education, or related behavioral sciences including six credit hours in psychology, counseling, addictions or mental health.  

Experience:   None.

Note: Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in Mental, Addictions or Behavioral Health Counseling and Psychology classifications or Mental, Addictions or Behavioral Health Counseling and Psychology specialty codes in the counseling field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

1.  Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle.  Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.

2.  Employees in this classification may be required to successfully complete cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and maintain current certification.  

3.  Employees in this classification may be assigned duties in a swimming program.  Employees assigned such duties may be required to obtain certification in Life Saving and Water Safety.

1.  Persons appointed to positions in this classification must successfully complete an in-service training program and examination approved by the hiring facility prior to a permanent appointment.

2.  Applicants are subject to a background investigation by the Maryland State Police before a permanent appointment can be made.  A criminal conviction record may be grounds for rejection of the applicant by the hiring agency.  

3.  Employees in this classification will be required to provide the facility with a telephone number at which they can be reached.  

4.  Employees in this classification are subject to substance abuse testing in accordance with Code of Maryland Regulations 17.04.09, Testing for Illegal Use of Drugs.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies.  Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.  

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit D, Health and Human Service Nonprofessionals classes.  As provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.  

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.   NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.